EEOC SETTLES MAJOR AGE BIAS LAWSUIT FOR $7.1 MILLION
WITH THOMSON CONSUMER ELECTRONICS AND LOCAL UNIONS

INDIANAPOLIS -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) today announced a $7.1 million settlement of a class action
lawsuit under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)
against Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc. and the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Union Local Nos. 1424 and 1048
(IBEW). The settlement will benefit hundreds of older Thomson
employees whose jobs were moved to Mexico when the company closed its
Bloomington plant and partially closed its Indianapolis facility in
1998.

EEOC Chairwoman Ida L. Castro said, "This settlement will have
national implications, making it clear that individuals cannot be
disadvantaged by employers simply because they happen to be older
than their fellow workers or job seekers. It also shows that the
Commission's joint investigative-legal approach to enforcing our
civil rights laws works." Ms. Castro applauded Thomson's
"willingness to settle this matter without resort to lengthy and
costly litigation."

Commission officials said today at a press conference at EEOC's
district office here that, under terms of the agreement, a class of
over 800 former Thomson employees will share $7.1 million. The
class is comprised of employees age 55 and older who received no
severance payments and employees under 55 who received less severance
payments than amounts received by younger workers with the same years
of service. The agreement is contained in a Consent Decree entered
today by Judge Tinder of the United States District Court in
Indianapolis.

The settlement resolves the lawsuit filed by EEOC against
Thomson and the IBEW on June 15, 1999, on behalf of former employee
Sharon Hardwick and other former employees who had filed age
discrimination charges with the agency, as well as other employees
who were identified by the EEOC in the investigation it conducted
prior to filing the suit.

Attempts by EEOC to settle the dispute with defendants before
pursuing litigation were unsuccessful. The suit alleged that Thomson
and IBEW violated the Older Workers Benefit Protection
Act, a provision of the ADEA, by the implementation of the Plant
Closing Agreement ratified in June 1997. The company's decision to
move jobs to Mexico resulted in the closing of the Bloomington plant
and partial closing of the Indianapolis facility in 1998. The Plant
Closing Agreement discriminated against its oldest employees,
affording them the least benefits in their severance packages due to
their age. The ADEA prohibits discrimination against workers age 40
and older.

Speaking at the press conference, Commissioner Paul Steven
Miller said, "This is an important victory in the battle against age
discrimination. The settlement sends a clear message that paying
older workers smaller severance awards based upon their age is
discriminatory and unlawful. The Commission will continue to
vigorously enforce the anti-discrimination laws to prevent and remedy
unlawful workplace bias."

EEOC General Counsel Designate C. Gregory Stewart said at the
press conference: "This case is the direct result of the EEOC's
commitment to the development of more impact litigation and larger
class actions; the agency will continue to focus on these kinds of
cases." He added that age bias issues, particularly those involving
severance benefits, "have been identified by the agency as a
strategic litigation priority."

Class members may contact the EEOC's Indianapolis office at
(317) 226-7203.

In addition to enforcing the ADEA, the EEOC enforces Title VII
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment
discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national
origin; the Equal Pay Act; prohibitions against discrimination
affecting individuals with disabilities in the federal sector;
sections of the Civil Rights Act of 1991; and Title I of the
Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination
against people with disabilities in the private sector and state and
local governments.

Further information about the EEOC is available on the agency's
web site at www.eeoc.gov.